Confessions of a Bounty Hunter
by Kenshinin
Summary: After Spike's death and the dismantling of the Bebop crew, Jet finds some time to think, and suddenly finds a way to change his past and make his life worth something.
1. Confessions of a Bounty Hunter Part 1

Cowboy Bebop Session 27: Confessions of a Bounty Hunter (Part 1)  
  
"You know, after seeing Spike dead in that street, with his index and thumb finger in his favorite ol' mark, it makes me think that maybe we all can meet our pasts and make them better."  
  
Jet was sitting in the Bebop lounge, having a quick smoke and talking to himself. He'd just returned from Arlington Cemetery, where he'd convinced the people to bury Spike there.  
  
"I mean, it was hard enough, leaving my own wife to go off hunting bounties, and now here I am, alone once again, and with no bounties to pursue. I wonder what life would've been like if I'd made some completely different decisions... if I'd actually taken control of my life, would I still have my wife? Would I have a job that's actually on a planet instead of split apart across so many different systems? Aw, man... I gotta go think."  
  
Sighing heavily (his cigarette had gone out long ago), Jet pulled the ship down on Mars. He figured he might as well find something to do, what with no new bounties on the run. He found a quiet bench in the Red Dirt Park and sat down, still sighing. After sitting there for a few moments, he suddenly realized that an old book was sitting there, about as old as the universe itself. For a second, Jet thought it belonged to someone, but one quick look around told him that no one was around to retrieve it.  
  
::Might as well read it, if no one's here to claim it.::  
  
Still deep in thought, Jack picked up the book. He got a quick surprise, considering how much dust was on it; it was really old. Once the dust was all cleared off, Jet picked up the book and began to read. Instantly, he could tell there was something familiar about it; maybe he'd read it before, and he forgot about it.  
  
::But that's impossible. I haven't read anything since...::  
  
Jet continued to read, and it seemed as if his thoughts wouldn't leave him alone. The book was pretty familiar... and then he realized it.  
  
"My god! This is... this is my..."  
  
It was his diary. Since he'd been in the skies so much of his life, he'd decided to carry a diary, which chronicled everything he'd done up to his high school graduation. After that, he'd set down his diary for a so-called "quick kiss" before things got rough, and he'd forgotten his diary on this bench. Finding it again seemed like new breath entering Jet's mouth.  
  
"I haven't seen this thing in years... and yet here it is, still in a tip-top state of order. It's amazing..."  
  
And so, for the next 3 hours, Jet sat on that bench and relieved his memories - from the very first day he'd learned to write, to his last words on high school graduation. And for a few moments, the big, strong, and tough Jet felt like bursting into a drizzle of tears: he'd finally found what he'd been longing for so long.  
  
NEXT SESSION: Oldest memories being relieved? I don't recall investing my diary with that kind of power. But anyways, things are going to get a little too freaky for even me, when my diary puts me back into those moments, and actually gives me a chance to change them. I've finally got a way to make the right decisions. Next episode: Confessions of a Bounty Hunter (Part 2). Don't miss it.  
  
A/N: Sorry about Jet's name; I always thought it was Jack. Anyways, I fixed it. The second chapter should be along the way soon. 


	2. Confessions of a Bounty Hunter Part 2

Cowboy Bebop Session 28: Confessions of a Bounty Hunter (Part 2)  
  
Jet headed into the streets of Mars, searching for a bar to have a few shots before he left. Unfortunately, there was only one in town, the Jade Memory.  
  
::Hell, it's better than nothing.::  
  
Heading inside, Jet noticed a few old people playing poker, and taking no notice to him whatsoever.  
  
"Say, Porkinstein, he's cheating again!"  
  
"That so, Manny? Let's shoot him!"  
  
"Damn it, horse breath, I told you I ain't cheating! Get your damn guns outta my face, yellow-bellied bastards!"  
  
::Can't ever trust an old man playing poker.::  
  
Sighing heavily, Jet sat down at the bar. The bartender, a tenderly old man, smiled as he put down the glass he was cleaning.  
  
"What'll it be for ya today?"  
  
"I'll just have a shot of classic vodka, if you don't mind."  
  
"Hmm... don't get many partners out here who want the classics. You ok, fella?"  
  
"Yeah...just having a rough day, I guess."  
  
"Well, alrighty then."  
  
Jet spent the next hour swinging those vodkas down.  
  
::I'm gonna have a major hang over later.::  
  
Suddenly, his body gave a sudden jolt, like he was in the pilot's seat of the Bebop and they'd just been shot. And then, he was back at his old home, when he was a child. It was like he was just there, as a memory. He was in a rickety old house, sort of like the one he used to live in as a child. And then, coming up the stairs to the landing, was a child Jet could only recognize as his own.  
  
::What the hell is going on here?::  
  
The boy didn't even take notice of Jet; instead he entered the only room on this landing. Still confused, Jet followed him. The room they entered was made up entirely of pictures of bounty hunter movies. Along one side of the wall, there were blueprints for a ship, which Jet instantly recognized as his old blueprints for the Bebop. Spaceships and planets lined up the entirety of the room.  
  
"This was my room... so this boy must be..."  
  
There was no doubt about it; this boy was Jet Black at age 15. The black hair, the artificial arm... it was like Jet had been thrown back in time. Suddenly, a voice called from downstairs.  
  
"Jet! Come down here! You come and say good-bye to your father!"  
  
The young Jet sighed and ran downstairs. Jet followed, still rather confused.  
  
Downstairs, a man who looked exactly like Jet did right now (minus his artificial arm) was loaded with suitcases and all dressed up, looking like he was leaving.  
  
"Good-bye, father." Jet said with a rather harsh tone.  
  
::That wasn't very nice of me... and I knew that. So why didn't I do anything about it?::  
  
"Don't forget what I tell you, boy: you'll never amount to anything with those fantasies in your room."  
  
Then, Jet's dad went outside to start loading up the car - but Jet knew what came next. One second later, a bullet came flying through the air and killed Jet's father.  
  
::Dammit... why couldn't I do anything about it??::  
  
Suddenly, Jet felt the familiar jolt, and realized he was back in the Jade Memory. Looking around, he could see a couple of men with guns holding up the bartender.  
  
::Was it all just a dream?::  
  
"Hey, guys, this isn't a bank. Get the hell out of here!" Jet was rather angered after witnessing his father die again.  
  
"And what'll you do about it if we don't leave?" One of the punks replied.  
  
One swift movement - that was all it took. Within seconds, all three punks were on the floor, covered in blood.  
  
"Gee, thanks, partner. For that, all your drinks are free."  
  
"Thanks, man."  
  
Jet sat down and was prepared for another vodka. The old men playing poker didn't seem to have noticed anything.  
  
UPCOMING SESSION: Ok, so I find out what this bar really is - and why it's the only one in town. So now, I've got to fix my life before all hell breaks lose on the cosmos. And does any of this have to do with Spike's death? Next episode: Dark Memory Alley. Don't miss out.  
  
A/N: Ok, I know it's not too good, but I'm still working on it. Please review if you have the time. I'm still a "newbie" author, so any advice you have for me is mucho appreciated. Thanks! 


	3. Dark Memory Alley

Cowboy Bebop Session 29: Dark Memory Alley  
  
A/N: I'm glad someone remembered Faye was still here. She's in this episode, so not to worry. I'm thinking she may not be a major plot person until later, though. You should at least know where she is, though. BTW, Thanks for the reviews!  
  
"Say, there, partner. You ever hear of a guy named Spike Spiegel?"  
  
The old bartender was trying to strike up conversation, even though he could plainly see Jet in deep thought.  
  
"Hmm? Yeah, I knew him. How do you know him?"  
  
"See those thugs you just wiped out? They were in the Red Dragon Syndicate at the same time Spike was. He came in here a couple of times, but not on business. He said my vodkas were amazing pieces of shit, and so he ordered one every time he came in."  
  
::Spike and vodkas? That seems a little odd... of course, I don't exactly thing that joy ride to the past I just took was very ordinary either.::  
  
"So, partner, how'd you know Spike? I hear he died a few years back."  
  
"How I knew Spike is not for you to know. But he was right: these vodkas are amazing pieces of sh-"  
  
But at that, Jet was cut off, because his videophone was ringing. Sighing, he picked it up and answered. It was Faye, and she looked distraught.  
  
"Jet, they took the Bebop off to some planet on these weird coordinates. You gotta help me..."  
  
Then she fainted, just like that. The connection ran dead, and Jet jumped up and ran out of the bar. Before he left, he said one thing to the bartender:  
  
"I'll be back. If any men with guns come in, hide in the back."  
  
::Dammit! Knew I shouldn't have left the Bebop alone with her!::  
  
Dashing down the streets, Jet tried to follow Faye's communication signal, but it only led him down a rotten, dirty alley with a dead end in the shape of a wall. Suddenly, like an echo from space, a familiar voice came raining down into Jet's head.  
  
"I don't like this set-up, Jet. Don't like it at all."  
  
"Spike..."  
  
Jet's head was suddenly pounding, like it usually does during a hangover. The only thing that didn't make sense was the fact that he'd just had his vodka, and alcohol usually takes a lot longer than 15 minutes to process through the body. But then, he could see his 15-year-old self again, and this time there were three other kids with him. Jet noticed a pack of cigarettes in one of the thug's hands.  
  
"Come on, Jet. Don't you want to be cool? This stuff is, like, the best!"  
  
"No, Jet! Don't do it!"  
  
For some strange reason, Jet was screaming at his younger self, and, amazingly, it was working. The thugs had just noticed the older Jet, and were running like crazy to get out of the way.  
  
"Hey! Get back here, kids! Underage smoking is illegal! GET BACK HERE!!"  
  
Enraged, Jet chased the three thugs down to the end of the darkened alley. The only things here were trashcans and dead fish bones, probably from the cats that came to eat them. Panting the kids gave themselves in.  
  
"Ok! Ok! We'll stop smoking! To be honest, we've wanted to stop for so long, it was insane. But we just couldn't do it. We just couldn't!"  
  
Then, all three of them just started crying. Even Jet felt a tear coming along.  
  
"Alright. I'll let you go. But, if I see you with another box of cigarettes again, I'll personally rip your arms   
out. Got it?"  
  
"Yes, sir!"  
  
Then, it was over. Jet was standing in the alley, head no longer throbbing, and voice extremely hoarse. But something was different about Jet now - he no longer felt a craving to smoke.  
  
::That can't have been a dream... but then, why do I suddenly despise this pack of cigarettes in my pocket? I must've... no, that's impossible! Snap out of it, Jet, your ship and crewmember have just been stolen! You gotta go find them!::  
  
Beating his head with his hand, Jet ran out of the alley and continued to track down Faye. But again, a familiar voice stopped him for a brief moment on the sidewalk:  
  
"...ever since that day, I've been seeing the past through one eye, and the present through the other."  
  
NEXT SESSION: The hunt for the truth is on. Somehow, the bar, the alley, and the gang that's taken Faye and the Bebop are all... no, dammit Jet! Stop thinking like this! You're just going insane! That's probably why Spike keeps haunting you! Right? Next episode: Dead Cowboy Walking (like that could ever happen).  
  
A/N: Sorry about the alley not being too descriptive. Don't worry, though. Something similar happens later. 


End file.
